Yes, there are many unclaimed lands in the world and the biggest unclaimed territory is Antarctica. Can you claim an unclaimed island? The answer is yes, you can claim unclaimed islands but it is going to be difficult. Unclaimed islands are usually unclaimed for a reason and are mostly declared national monuments.

In 2026, there are virtually no unclaimed islands left on Earth. Almost every piece of land, no matter how remote or uninhabited, is claimed by a sovereign nation. For example, the extremely remote Bouvet Island is a Norwegian dependency, while the barren Devon Island belongs to Canada. The last significant "unclaimed" territories are mostly found in Antarctica (like Marie Byrd Land), but even these are often subject to dormant claims or international treaties. While you might see "islands for sale" online, these are typically private leases within a country's jurisdiction, not independent micronations. The only way "new" land appears today is through volcanic activity (like Surtsey in Iceland), but such land is automatically claimed by the country within whose territorial waters it emerges. Essentially, the era of "discovering" and claiming new islands ended with the mapping of the world in the early 20th century.